Seattle DOT sends convoy to assist in snow-covered Portland

Seattle sent a convoy of heavy-duty vehicles to its sister city to the south, after a storm dumped up to a foot of snow, toppled trees, and cut power to thousands.

Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation headed out for Portland Wednesday night to assist with clearing the roads in and around the city.

SDOT Crews are on their way to Portland to assist w/ Snow and ice and clear roads. @PBOTinfo #pdxtraffic #pdxsnow pic.twitter.com/sbs85llO3h

— seattledot (@seattledot) January 12, 2017

SDOT sent eight salt and plow trucks, an aerial lift truck, a wood chipper truck and a chainsaw crew, KIRO 7 reports. About two dozen workers in all left for Portland.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown declared a state of emergency due to the severe storm that buried Portland in the most snow the city has seen since at least 2008.

The National Weather Service says parts of Portland got up to a foot of snow, a rare event in a city known for its rain.

The snow began at the end of Tuesday’s rush-hour commute, so the roads were free of heavy traffic during the storm, the Associated Press reports. Still, some cars were left abandoned on highways and the state Department of Transportation warned drivers to stay home Wednesday, if possible.

Several large branches were down near Portland State University and Portland General Electric reports that more than 30,000 customers were without power. The company continued to restore power Thursday morning.

Though snow didn’t reach Seattle, the storm did cause some disruption in Southwest Washington and Clark County, where the government closed its offices on Wednesday.

Crews in Clark County weren’t dealing with just a dusting of snow either. A tweet from Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones shows just how much snow the area received.

What Grant County Sheriff's deputies were dealing with today!! Glad is the end of the day and no one hurt!! Drive safe!! pic.twitter.com/ltjZJOVowO

— Tom Jones (@sherifftomjones) January 12, 2017

To the relief of those in Washington affected by the storm, there were no weather warnings or advisories issued by the National Weather Service as of 7 a.m. on Thursday as things start to clear up.

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